Appzone rebrands to “Zone” to power global payments with its regulated blockchain network
Appzone, one of Africa’s leading Fintech software providers, has rebranded as “Zone”, a regulated blockchain payment infrastructure company. By building Africa’s first layer-1 blockchain network, Zone will enable payments and acceptance of digital currencies for financial service providers globally. Zone’s regulated blockchain network enables direct transaction flow between financial service providers without intermediaries, providing reduced transaction costs, instant dispute resolution and absolute reliability across Africa’s payment borders and beyond.
As part of its evolution, Appzone is pivoting from its cloud-based SaaS infrastructure to offer payment processing services that support both fiat money and digital currencies, with the intention of enabling a hybrid interim period in finance where TradFi and DeFi will co-exist seamlessly. For fiat payments, Zone connects some of Africa’s most prominent banks and fintechs within and across countries and uses a naturally stable coin to provide real-time settlement of cross-border transactions. In 2022, Zone was issued a “payment Switching and Processing Licence” by the Central Bank of Nigeria, making it the first payment infrastructure company based on Blockchain to be licensed in Africa.
Following the rebrand, Appzone’s Banking-as-a-Service business has been carved into a separate standalone company, known as Qore, so that it can continue to serve existing customers and increase the reach of the SaaS platform. This new stand-alone business will be led by some members of the elite management team, including Emeka Emetaromco-founder and CEO of Appzone and Mudiaga Umukoro, co-founder and CEO of Appzone’s subsidiary, Appzone Core. Appzone’s products currently process over $2 billion annually for 500+ Banks, Fintechs and MFIs in seven countries – this includes payment processing for six of Africa’s top 25 banks.
Talking about the rebrand, Zone Co founder and CEO Obi Emetarom said: “We have led Africa’s fintech sector in global innovation for over a decade. At Appzone, we launched the first core banking and omnichannel software on the cloud, as well as the first multi-bank direct debit service based on single global mandates. With this move to Zone, harnessing the power of blockchain technology to connect all monetary stores of value and enable reliable, frictionless and universally interoperable payments.In doing so, we are building one global network to pay anyone in any way, in any currency, as ultimately will maximize financial inclusion and accelerate economic prosperity for Africa and the rest of the world.”
Co-founder and CTO of Zone, Wale Onawunmiadded, “At Zone, we have always been early adopters of innovative technology with the potential to transform industries – in this case the financial industry. Our next-generation decentralized payment technology, which is the first of its kind, will challenge the status quo and become the future of payments for the world. We are encouraged by the pace of adoption we have seen so far and remain passionate about enabling financial services providers to reach their full potential.”
According to the United Nations, Africa’s population will grow to approximately 1.7 billion by 2030, with a potential for $91 billion in cross-border payments and a retail value of over $1.5 trillion. But at a fee of $8.97 per transaction, cross-border payments in sub-Saharan Africa remain one of the most expensive payment structures. Additionally, recipients typically cannot have value delivered immediately to their bank accounts or mobile wallets. Zone’s Layer-1 blockchain network will allow payments initiated from one country in one currency to be received instantly in another country and currency at a fraction of the current cost.
Blockchain is a digital ledger of transactions that provides users with traceability and security without the need for intermediaries. Using blockchain, Zone is working to fully digitize and decentralize payments, thereby paving the way for a cashless society where payments transcend borders.
Formerly known as Appzone, the Google for Startups Accelerator alumnus, now known as Zone, is on a mission to connect all monetary stores of value using blockchain.
To find out more about Zone, visit here.
